Last Goodbye
by HOAnubisTS
Summary: A birthday story for Kberry! You all know the orange-haired vampire... but behind the scenes, he hides a secret lover he sees every few years. But this time he sees her, might be his last...


**Oh, KBerry, I am SO SO SO sorry that I'm late on your birthday fic! Hopefully… it's good enough to make up for the wait. :P HAPPY BIRTHDAY! This is set during…. book 3-4 ish to book 9? I dunno, somewhere in between there. XD**

Drip. Drop. Drip. Drop.

"This god damn rain won't stop," Rose muttered. She stared out the window, heaving a sigh of disappointment heavily.

Drip. Drop. Drip. Drop.

Sighing once again, she reached for her diary that was tucked safely under her blanket, got out on of her expensive fountain pens, and began writing in elegant, curvy handwriting:

_February 18, 2000._

_Larten still isn't here. He promised to come tonight – yet it's almost sunrise and I'm all alone. What if he was kidding around? I'd never be able to forgive him then. What if he found another girl?_

The thought was so dreadful, she could feel her heart plummeting to the ground.

_He probably has. I should've known. Why would he care about someone like me? I think I'll just lay myself to sleep. It's getting late – and I'm meeting up with…_

"Aaah!" she yelled as a pair of strong hands snaked around her throat. Paralyzed with fear, she tried kicking and squirming, but the man was far too strong.

"You thought I would not be here, did you not, Rose?" he whispered.

The fear vanished, and instead came ecstasy. She wrapped her arms around him, inhaling his scent, exchanging loving words between each other.

"You gave me a fright," she giggled. "How did you get through the door?"

"I did not," he admitted, a playful smirk tugging on his lips. "A woman let me in. She said you had been waiting for me all night."

Blushing like a schoolgirl, she jumped to her feet. "You must be starving. Do you want food? I'll make you stew."

"No thank you, but I think Darren might be peckish." Rose, puzzled, cocked her head and furrowed her eyebrows.

"Darren? Who's Darren?" she inquired.

"I have not told you about Darren, have I?" he chortled. "Darren is my assistant. My first. Impressive, aye?"

As if on cue, a young boy with piercing blue eyes trudged into the room. "Did you call me, Mr. Crepsley?"

"I want you to meet Rose." Darren stifled a smile from spreading on his lips.

"Nice to meet you, Rose." He stretched out his hand. "I'm Darren."

"It is Rose's birthday, Darren."

She was overwhelmed now. "You still remember?"

"I could never forget, even if I tried," he murmured. Flushing a bright red color again, she scurried off into the kitchen.

"H-huh-happy birthday, Rose," Darren stuttered, flustered by the loving tone in Mr. Crepsley's voice. The vampire never spoke lovingly to anyone – except Rose.

After a moment of silence, Rose returned with a tray full of bowls with hot stew.

"Rose, there is a reason we are here," Larten announced, rubbing a finger against his scar. "We have to go to Vampire Mountain soon."

She, of course, knew about the mountain, and dreaded it irrationally. To her, it was a damned place that stole her love away every twelve years.

"You do? Has it been twelve years yet?" He nodded somberly. "Oh…" Even though she tried, she couldn't keep the dismay out of her tone.

Larten sensed her sorrow and put his big hand on top of her fragile fingers. "I will be back before you know it. And hopefully, so will Darren." He slid his fingers into the inside of his scarlet cape and pulled out a necklace. It was a simple, silver piece with a single rose in the middle. It glinted under the sunlight elegantly.

"Larten, it's beautiful," she gasped. He smiled.

"We better start going then," he sighed.

"What? But you've only been back for… thirty minutes!" she exclaimed. She desperately wanted him to stay.

"I know, but… it is time for us to leave." He rises to his feet and bids goodbye.

"You HAVE to leave?" she inquired, tears running to her eyes. She tried to blink them away, but it was useless.

"Yes." He leaned in to hug her, but as soon as she was in his arms, he mumbled, "The rose in the middle will glow only once in its lifetime. And that once, is when I have passed away. I got Evanna to put a spell on it."

"Passed…. away?" Passing away. Passing away. Those words rung in her ears incessantly.

"Yes. Goodbye, Rose." She stepped closer for a final kiss, but before she knew it, he was gone, and so was his young assistant.

_Until next time,_ she sighed, laying herself down on her bed.

Oh, how wrong she had been. There would be no next time.

She was graying.

Deteriorating before her own eyes.

She was now…. how old was she? She couldn't keep track of it these days.

Ah, yes. Seventy. She was definitely seventy. The varicose veins and wrinkly skin were only proof that she was rotting.

Rocking in her rocking chair and knitting. Back when she was young, she had sworn she wouldn't end up this way. But when she could barely move, what else could she do?

When she was almost done with her bright purple scarf, the elegant bracelet started glowing, slightly at first, but as bright as the sun the next second.

As she cast her eyes upon it, she felt her heart plummet to the ground, like it had over fifty years ago. But this time, it didn't stop. It was soaring through the free air, until it hit the ground and smashed to pieces.

She was gone, along with him. Lifeless, she lay on her knitting chair the bracelet still glowing.

**Oh…. this turned out to be sad. O.o It's….. uh… oh well. Kberry, I hope you like this, even though it IS depressing. Happy birthday, once again! **


End file.
